[Intermediate echocardiographic follow-up of a new model of pericardial prosthesis (Pericarbon)]

The paper deals with the echocardiographic medium-term follow-up of 11 patients fitted with a Sorin Pericarbon bioprosthesis. Four hundred and ninety-seven biological prostheses were implanted during the period January 1975 to December 1988, of which 22 (4.42%) were Pericarbon. The first 11 patients (mean age 55.3 years) who underwent isolated mitral or aortic valve replacement were included in the study. In 5 patients the bioprosthesis was implanted in mitral site, and in 6 in aortic. Post-operative 2D-Doppler echocardiographic tests revealed good hemodynamic performance indices, even in small calibre vessels, and the absence of early malfunctions. Although the number of patients studied is small, the absence of early malfunctions and the technical innovations of the bioprosthesis make it preferable to other pericardiac prostheses.